Real Hollywood Heros

Alec Guinness (Star Wars~Bridge over the River Kwai) operated a British Royal Navy landing craft on D-Day.

James Doohan ("Scotty" on Star Trek) landed in Normandy with the U. S. Army on D-Day.

Donald Pleasance (The Great Escape) really was an R. A. F. pilot who was shot down, held prisoner and tortured by the Germans.

David Niven was a Sandhurst graduate and Lt. Colonel of the British Commandos in Normandy.

James Stewart Entered the Army Air Force as a private and worked his way to the rank of Colonel.
During World War II, Stewart served as a bomber pilot, his service record crediting him with leading more than 20 missions over Germany, and taking part in hundreds of air strikes during his tour of duty.

Stewart earned the Air Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, France's Croix de Guerre,and 7 Battle Stars during World War II.

In peace time, Stewart continued to be an active member of the Air Force as a reservist, reaching the rank of Brigadier General before retiring in the late 1950's.

Clark Gable (Mega-Movie Star when war broke out) Although he was beyond the draft age at the time the U.S. entered WW II

Clark Gable enlisted as a private in the AAF on Aug. 12, 1942 at Los Angeles.

He attended the Officers' Candidate School at Miami Beach, Fla. and graduated as a second lieutenant on Oct. 28, 1942. He then attended aerial gunnery school and in Feb. 1943 he was assigned to the 351st Bomb Group at Polebrook where flew operational missions over Europe in B-17s.

Capt. Gable returned to the U.S. in Oct. 1943 and was relieved from active duty as a major on Jun. 12, 1944 at his own request, since he was over-age for combat.

Charlton Heston was an Army Air Corps Sergeant in Kodiak.

Ernest Borgnine was a U. S. Navy Gunners Mate 1935-1945.


Charles Durning was a U. S. Army Ranger at Normandy earning a Silver Star and awarded the Purple Heart.


Charles Bronson was a tail gunner in the Army Air Corps, more specifically on B-29s in the 20th Air Force out of Guam, Tinian, and Saipan.

George C. Scott was a decorated U. S. Marine.

Eddie Albert (Green Acres TV) was awarded a Bronze Star for his heroic action as a U. S. Naval officer aiding Marines at the horrific battle on the island of Tarawa in the Pacific Nov. 1943.

Brian Keith served as a U.S. Marine rear gunner in several actions against the Japanese on Rabaul in the Pacific.

Lee Marvin was a U.S. Marine on Saipan during the Marianas campaign when he was wounded earning the Purple Heart.

John Russell: In 1942, he enlisted in the Marine Corps where he received a battlefield commission and was wounded and highly decorated for valor at Guadalcanal.

Robert Ryan was a U.S. Marine who served with the OSS in Yugoslavia.

Tyrone Power (an established movie star when Pearl Harbor was bombed) joined the US. . Marines, was a pilot flying supplies into, and wounded Marines out of, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Audie Murphy, little 5'5" tall 110 pound guy from Greenville, Texas who played cowboy parts.

Most decorated serviceman of WWII and earned: Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, 2 Silver Star Medals, Legion of Merit, 2 Bronze Star Medals with "V", 2 Purple Hearts, U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, 2 Distinguished Unit Emblems, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with One Silver Star, Four Bronze Service Stars (representing nine campaigns) and one Bronze Arrowhead (representing assault landing at Sicily and Southern France) World War II Victory Medal Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar, Expert Badge with Bayonet Bar, French Fourragere in Colors of the Croix de Guerre, French Legion of Honor, Grade of Chevalier, French Croix de Guerre With Silver Star, French Croix de Guerre with Palm, Medal of Liberated France, Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 Palm.

New Rules" - by Bill Maher

New Rule: Stop giving me that pop-up ad for Classmates.com! There's a reason you don't talk to people for 25 years. Because you don't particularly like them! Besides, I already know what the captain of the football team is doing these days: mowing my lawn.

New Rule: If you need to shave and you still collect baseball cards, you're gay. If you're a kid, the cards are keepsakes of your idols. If you're a grown man, they're pictures of men.

New Rule: Ladies, leave your eyebrows alone. Here's how much men care about your eyebrows: do you have two of them? Okay, we're done.

New Rule: There's no such thing as flavored water. There's a whole aisle of this at the supermarket, but without that watery taste. Sorry, but flavored water is called a soft drink. You want flavored water? Pour some scotch over ice and let it melt. That's your flavored water.

New Rule: Stop messing with old people. Target is introducing a redesigned pill bottle that's square, with a bigger label. And the top is now the bottom. And by the time grandpa figures out how to open it, his butt will be in the morgue. Congratulations, Target, you just solved the Social Security crisis.

New Rule: The more complicated the Starbucks order, the bigger the jerk. If you walk into a Starbucks and order a "decaf grande half-soy, half-low fat, iced vanilla, double-shot, gingerbread cappuccino, extra dry, light ice, with one Sweet-n'-Low and one NutraSweet," ooh, you're a huge jerk.

New Rule: I'm not the cashier! By the time I look up from sliding my card, entering my PIN number, pressing "Enter," verifying the amount, deciding, no, I don't want cash back, and pressing "Enter" again, the kid who is supposed to be ringing me up is standing there eating my Almond Joy.

New Rule: Just because your tattoo has Chinese characters in it doesn't make you spiritual. It's right above the crack of your butt. And it translates to "beef with broccoli." The last time you did anything spiritual, you were praying to God you weren't pregnant. You're not spiritual. You're just high.

New Rule: Competitive eating isn't a sport. It's one of the seven deadly sins. ESPN recently televised the US Open of Competitive Eating, because watching those athletes at the poker table was just too damned exciting. What's next, competitive farting? Oh wait. They're already doing that. It's called "The Howard Stern Show."

New Rule: I don't need a bigger mega M&M. If I'm extra hungry for M&Ms, I'll go nuts and eat two.

New Rule: If you're going to insist on making movies based on bad, old television shows, then you have to give everyone in the Cineplex a remote so we can see what's playing on the other screens. Let's remember the reason something was a television show in the first place is that the idea wasn't good enough to be a movie.

New Rule: No more gift registries. You know, it used to be just for weddings. Now it's for babies and new homes and graduations from rehab. Picking out the stuff you want and having other people buy it for you isn't gift giving, it's the white people version of looting.

New Rule: And this one is long overdue: No more bathroom attendants. After I zip up, some guy is offering me a towel and a mint like I just had sex with George Michael. I can't even tell if he's supposed to be there, or just some freak with a fetish. I don't want to be on your webcam, dude. I just want to wash my hands.

New Rule: When I ask how old your toddler is, I don't need to know in months. "27 Months." "He's two," will do just fine. He's not a cheese. And I didn't really care in the first place.

Country Music Star Stats for 2005

Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood were married December 10th at their home in Claremore, Oklahoma.

Lila McCann married real estate salesman/musician, Mike Wolofsky Nov 20th in a ceremony at the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville.

Big Kenny of Big & Rich and his wife, Christie Alpin are proud parents of a baby boy; Lincoln William Holiday Alphin, weighed in around 6 pounds.

Terri Clark and her tour manager/bandmate Greg Kaczor were married in the Canadian Rockies near Calgary, Alberta September 17th.

The whirlwind romance and wedding between Kenny Chesney and Renee Zellweger is history; the couple is seeking an annulment.

Vassar Clements, one of the greatest, most creative fiddlers in country and bluegrass music died August 16th. He was 77 and had been battling cancer.

Allison Moorer and Steve Earle, singers and songwriters, were married August 11th.

Josh Gracin and wife Ann Marie are the parents of a son, Landon Joshua Gracin, who was born August 4th. The Gracins have another child, daughter Briana, age 3.

Bryan White and actress wife Erika Page have a second son, born June 8th. Jackson White has a brother, Justin.

Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flatts and Playboy's Playmate of the Year, Nashville's Tiffany Fallon are engaged.

Martina McBride and her husband, John, have their third girl.
Ava Rose Kathleen McBride weighed in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces, and arrived Monday. (June 20) Ava Rose joins big sisters Delaney, 10 and Emma, 7.

Jerry Lee Lewis and his sixth wife have divorced.
Jerry Lee and Kerry Lynn McCarver Lewis were married in 1984 and have an 18-year-old son.
Kristian Bush of Sugarland, and wife, Jill have a baby girl, born June 7th.
Camille Grace Bush is the new addition to the family, which also includes her big brother Tucker, age 3.

Kenny Chesney married actress Renee Zellweger in a 15-minute ceremony performed by a female preacher, Monday (May 9) in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Billy Dean married his longtime girlfriend Stephanie, Saturday (May 7) in a private ceremony near Nashville.

Dixie Chick Emily Robison and her husband, singer-songwriter Charlie Robison, are the parents of twins---Julianna Tex and Henry Benjamin were born on April 14. Both kids are doing great, as are the parents.
Emily's sister, Martie, also is mother to a set of twins.

Diamond Rio drummer, Brian Prout and wife, songwriter Stephanie Bentley have twins---Bentley and Sophie. They both weighed in at 4.5 pounds and were 4 month premature.
After more than six anxious weeks, the youngsters are now home…and all are doing well. Older sister Lilly is thrilled.

Andy Griggs is now a married man---her name is Renee. They were married January 11th.

Songwriter Ben Peters died in Nashville on May 25th.
He is credited with writing 14 #1 hit songs, including Daytime Friends and Nighttime Lovers for Kenny Rogers, Before the Next Teardrop Falls for Freddy Fender and Charley Pride's hit Kiss an Angel Good Morning for which he won a Grammy award in 1972.

Jimmy Martin, known as the King of Bluegrass and as Mr. Good 'n' Country, died Saturday (May 14) at age 77 after a long battle with cancer.

Sammi Smith, 61, died Saturday (Feb 12) in Oklahoma City after an extended illness.
Sammi was best known for her 1970 recording of the Kris Kristofferson song Help Me Make It Through the Night.

Singer/Songwriter Merle Kilgore who co-wrote Ring of Fire with June Carter Cash, and worked with both Hank Williams Sr. and Hank Williams Jr., died February 6th.
Merle died in Mexico of complications related to cancer treatment. He was 70.

Finds From the Archives

A swell and groovy 1971 WJJD Survey. © Plough Broadcasting Company 1965. A very nice IBM Selectric typewriter font. Probably typed by the receptionist. (Click on the images for a larger view)

(Below)
Art Roberts was at WKBW at the time. When Dick Lawrence fired him there, he moved to WBNY for just a short time. Roger Christian who also worked WBNY, after WWOL. Great pipes. Went to the coast. He has since passed on. Perry Allen who was terrifically talented morning guy at WKBW. He used voice tracks and drops from disc before carts or digital editors came in. Good friend. He was Jewish and married a good Catholic girl, Jean, who worked for Eddie Yellen at Capitol Records Had a cat named "Damn It" as in "Damn it, get off the couch". Perry back on the left coast. Danny McBride was at WEBR. Ran a media newspaper on the southside of Buffalo. Good kid. Bob Wells was the Dean of Buffalo disc jockeys at the time. Was the first guy to really spin records in town. Had a teen show from the Dellwood Ballroom every Saturday afternoon...and the stars dropped in there. Like a radio American Bandstand. He has since passed on. Don Crissy was a table tennis bud who also worked WBNY. Hernando's off air name was Phil Todaro and lived on the infamous west side. Did an all night gig for WGR. Used to stop in to see him all the time. The show was based on the song Hernando's Hideway. He didn't have great pipes, but was a pied piper. Played what he wanted to play and broke records. Basically, the other guys in town listened in and picked up on the winners. Dick Carr was the PM guy at WBNY when I joined the staff. When he went to Pittsburgh to program, I took over his afternoon gig. Russ Syracuse was from Syracuse and worked WKBW. "Indeedy, doody, daddy" was his pet phrase. I liked that, and have used it a time or two. Russ got into trouble in Syracuse and had to take the gig in Buffalo. He gave a teenager a ride home from a record hop one night. She falsely accused him of raping her...and messed up his career.